Deadlock in talks to stop airport strike

No go: Talks aimed at averting strikes at Gatwick, above, and other BAA airports have stalled

Talks aimed at averting a series of strikes at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick have ended without agreement.

No further dates have been set for negotiations although union officials said there was still time for another attempt to prevent three stoppages.

Walkouts lasting 24 hours have been called for 7 January and 14 January at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, followed by a 48-hour stoppage from 17 January.

Leaders of the union Unite spent several hours in talks with airport owners BAA to try to resolve a row over the closure of its final-salary pension scheme to new employees.

"As things stand, the industrial action set to begin on 7 January will go ahead," said a spokesman. The union says all seven airports would close as the dispute involves firefighters, security and maintenance workers.

A spokesman for BAA said the action was unnecessary as it had guaranteed existing workers would not be affected by the pension changes and had provided assurances about the "highly competitive replacement direct contribution scheme". BAA would do all it could to resolve the dispute, he said.